About 90% of the environmental impact caused by a conventional diesel powered bus arises when it is on the road. In order to reduce the environmental impact of our products, we are working on a number of fronts. Product development focuses both on reducing emissions of air pollutants and on reducing fuel consumption. Over the past twenty years, emissions of hazardous compounds in the exhaust fumes have been reduced by between 60% and 85%. At the same time, fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have been cut by about 30% for heavy buses.

Effective recycling
When a Volvo bus has finally reached the end of its service life it must be possible to recycle it effectively. Volvo Buses has therefore drawn up detailed instructions for how oils and chemicals are to be dealt with and how the bus should be dismantled most efficiently, together with descriptions of what the different parts contain.

Many of the parts in a bus can be renovated and re-used. In terms of resources, this is the most efficient form of recycling. Volvo Buses has a well developed system for renovated parts and about 80% of the parts in a used engine can be renovated and re-used.